Disposable container for dental filling materials

ABSTRACT

A disposable container for dental filling materials comprises a container body ( 1 ), which surrounds the useful space ( 5 ) and out of which the filling material may be pressed through a nozzle ( 2 ) by means of a movable piston ( 4 ). A nozzle ( 2 ) constructed as a separate component is mounted at a connecting point ( 6 ) on the container body ( 1 ). The nozzle ( 2 ) has a rotationally symmetrical shaft and a stop which is set back and projects radially. At the appropriately formed connecting point ( 6 ), the nozzle ( 2 ) can be welded to the container body ( 1 ) or joined thereto by adhesion. Other embodiments of nozzles can be connected to the container body ( 1 ) with form fit or force fit, for example by means of screw or bayonet closures.

[0001] Introduction and Background

[0002] The present invention relates to a disposable container for dental filling materials, having a container body which surrounds a useful space and out of which the filling material may be pressed through a nozzle by means of an axially movable piston.

[0003] For applications within a dental practice, disposable containers are filled with special dentistry products, for example light-hardening filling materials. Disposable containers of this type usually contain a sufficient quantity of the filling material for a single application, said filling material being required by the dentist to restore a prepared tooth cavity. An instrument having long-term usability, a so-called applicator, is used to apply the filling material into tooth cavities. The disposable container, which is empty after the application but for a slight residue of filling material, is not used further.

[0004] Conventionally-used, known disposable containers of the type described above comprise a cylindrical container body, whereof one end is constructed in the form of an angled, slightly conical nozzle. The nozzle is closed by a cap. The other end is closed by an axially movable piston. If the piston is pressed into the container body by means of a suitable instrument, for example an applicator, the filling material is emptied out of said container body through the nozzle. Depending on the viscosity of different filling materials, it is desirable to have different discharge openings, i.e. nozzles where the diameter of the nozzle channel varies while the outside contour remains unchanged. Previously known disposable containers are therefore adapted to the particular filling material by varying the form of the nozzle while leaving the external dimensions of the disposable container unchanged.

[0005] Although only the diameter of the discharge opening is changed, this necessitates production of a completely new disposable container. This increases production and storage costs for the different disposable containers, and results in slow response rates to properties of the filling material changing according to requirements.

[0006] An object of the present invention, therefore, is to construct a disposable container of the type described above such that different discharge openings can be realized at little expense, i.e. with low production and storage costs, and with rapid response rates to changing market requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The above and other objects of the invention can be achieved by constructing the nozzle as a separate component and mounting it in sealed manner on the container body.

[0008] To adapt the disposable container optimally to different filling materials, it is sufficient to alter only the form of the nozzle. The container body, which is produced separately, is equally suitable for a wide variety of filling materials and can therefore be manufactured on a relatively large scale, as can the cap.

[0009] It is preferably provided for the nozzle to have at the connecting point a hollow cylindrical connecting piece having a stop which is set back and projects radially, and for the container body to have a correspondingly formed connecting bore. As a connecting point which remains unchanged, an expediently constructed seat allows the greatest possible variation in the different nozzle forms.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the inventive idea, it is provided for the nozzle to be welded to the container body at the connecting point. The necessary small additional expenditure for connecting the container body and the nozzle in stable manner is insignificant when compared to the above-mentioned advantages of constructing the disposable container in two parts. Laser or ultrasonic welding procedures and adhesion, for example, are particularly suitable for producing a sufficiently stable material-fitting connection.

[0011] One embodiment of the inventive idea provides for the nozzle to be mounted in sealed and pressure-resistant manner on the container body by means of a bayonet closure or a screw thread. This enables an inexpensive sealed and pressure-resistant connection, even between nozzles and container bodies made from different materials. It is thus possible to adapt the two-part disposable container as extensively as possible to different dental filling materials and application-specific requirements. Thus, the two-part disposable container can be sold as a kit.

[0012] Further advantageous embodiments of the inventive idea are the subject-matter of the claims herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below and are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view through a disposable container for dental filling materials, comprising the container body, the nozzle, which is subsequently fixedly connected thereto, and the axially movable piston;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view through the container body;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view through the nozzle, which may be connected with material fit to the container body;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view through a nozzle having a screw thread;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view through a nozzle having a bayonet closure; and

[0019]FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The disposable container, which is illustrated in FIG. 1, and in detail in both FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, has a cylindrical container body 1 for dental filling materials as well as a nozzle 2 which is mounted at an angle at one end of the container body 1 and connected thereto in sealed manner, said container body and said nozzle both being made of, for example, plastic material. The nozzle 2 is of a rotationally symmetrical construction and has an internal channel 3 through which the filling material located in the container body may be pressed out. As a result of pressure on an axially movable piston 4 which terminates the container body 1, in the course of one application the dental filling material can be pressed out of a useful space 5 in the container body 1 through the nozzle 2.

[0021] The nozzle 2 illustrated in FIG. 3 has a-hollow cylindrical connecting piece 2 a having a stop 2 b which is set back and projects radially. A connecting bore 6 a corresponding to the hollow cylindrical connecting piece is located at the connecting point 6 between the container body 1 and the nozzle 2. At the connecting point 6, the nozzle 2 is mounted in sealed and material-fitting manner on the container body 1, for example by laser or ultrasonic welding or by adhesion. It is possible to alter the diameter of the internal nozzle channel 3 extensively, without changing the form of the connecting point 6.

[0022] A radially projecting edge 7 at the open end of the container body 1 serves to improve the pressure-resistance of the disposable container. Moreover, in terms of product engineering, this enables the disposable container to be held in position more easily, both during the filling procedure at a filling plant and—within the context of its use in dentistry—during the emptying procedure using a suitable instrument, for example an applicator.

[0023] The sections illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show exemplary embodiments of the nozzle (2′, 2″) which have a screw thread (8) or a bayonet closure (9) in the region of the correspondingly formed connecting point (6′,6″) of the container body (1), for example for form-fitting or force-fitting connections respectively.

[0024] Further variations and modifications of the foregoing will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to be encompassed by the claims appended hereto.

[0025] German priority application 100 17 655.0 is relied on and incorporated herein by reference. 

We claim:
 1. A disposable container for dental filling materials, comprising a container body with a nozzle, said container body is for surrounding a useful space and out of which a filling material may be pressed through said nozzle by means of an axially movable piston, said nozzle being constructed as a separate component and mounted in sealed manner on the container body (1).
 2. The disposable container according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is mounted on the container body in a manner to prevent loss of material.
 3. The disposable container according to claim 1 , wherein said nozzle has at its connecting point to the container a hollow cylindrical connecting piece having a stop which is set back and projects radially, and the container body has a correspondingly formed connecting bore.
 4. The disposable container according to claim 3 , wherein the nozzle is welded to the container body at the connecting point.
 5. The disposable container according to claim 4 , wherein the nozzle is laser-welded to the container body at the connecting point.
 6. The disposable container according to claim 4 , the nozzle is ultrasonically welded to the container body at the connecting point.
 7. The disposable container according to claim 3 , wherein the nozzle is joined to the container body by adhesion at the connecting point.
 8. The disposable container according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is mounted in sealed, form-fitting or force-fitting manner on the container body.
 9. The disposable container according to claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is mounted in sealed, pressure-resistant manner on the container body by means of a bayonet closure or a screw thread.
 10. The disposable container according to claim 8 , wherein the nozzle is mounted in sealed, pressure-resistant manner on the container body by means of a bayonet closure or a screw thread.
 11. The disposable container according to claim 1 , that is filled with dental filling material.
 12. A kit containing a two part disposable container for dental filling material comprising a container body for surrounding a useful space to be filled with dental filling material and a nozzle to be connected in a sealed manner with said container body. 